Chapter 189: Enya and Phil

Phil looked directly at herself in the mirror.

She took a step forward and pressed her hand against the glass, the coolness of the surface seeping into her palm.

After dazing for a moment, she sighed.

“Antiros…”

She was a false avatar born from the legendary magic item [I am a Lie], which Antiros had personally placed in Enya’s hands.

Shortly after Phil’s birth, the Great Witch had stripped her from Enya’s body. In that process, she had taken something more from Enya.

Perhaps that was… the unknown mystery Phil had felt just now!

‘Why did she do it?’

Phil looked down at the vanity. It was clean and held very few items; she didn’t like clutter.

First, Antiros wouldn’t harm Enya—that was certain.

But Phil wasn’t entirely Enya. She didn’t possess “Survival and Creation,” nor was she a real existence. She was a convergence of lies, an illusion created through perception.

So, had she become a vessel for that thing? Was Antiros’s goal to transfer and contain that thing without Enya knowing, then secure it?

Phil suddenly realized why she had come here; it wasn’t just to help Enya look after the children.

She felt as if she had grasped some kind of truth, but she didn’t plan to tell Enya yet.

She felt that letting Enya know would be disadvantageous for Siya.

It might relate to Enya’s background. Enya was more than a duke’s illegitimate daughter—she was a “Transmigrator”!

“Heh heh heh…”

Phil laughed softly. She didn’t overthink it.

Just then, a knock sounded at the bedroom door. Her daughter Rosily’s crisp voice came through the door.

“Mother?”

“!”

Phil was startled.

She had spent too much time playing cards and then spent a long while dazing and thinking after returning.

As a result, she hadn’t even started preparing tonight’s dinner!

Hiss…

Taking a sharp breath, Phil stepped forward and pushed the door open.

She looked at her daughter, Rosily, standing at the door, pulled her into a hug, and dotingly stroked her pale-gold, shoulder-length hair.

At the same time, she explained with a sheepish smile. “I accidentally overextended my nap. Dinner might be a little late today.”

“…”

Hearing this, Rosily immediately thought of Phil’s talk about opening a shop lately.

That must be why… The young girl buried her head against her mother’s chest, rubbing against her and sniffing the milky scent to recharge her energy.

Not even two months had passed, and Phil was still in that period, so the milky scent was normal. She even felt a bit of swelling pain!

Then, Rosily looked up and said coquettishly, “Mom, if opening the shop alone is too tiring, you should just rest. I’m not hungry at all. Sister Estelle probably isn’t hungry either. Why don’t you go back to bed and sleep a bit longer?”

“How can I do that…”

Phil’s lips twitched, feeling a bit awkward. ‘I just made up an excuse. You’re taking it so seriously, kid. You’re making it hard for me to back down, don’t you know?’

Hearing the little one didn’t plan to eat, Phil frowned.

She feigned anger, gave her daughter’s cheek a light pinch, and squinted at the grinning Rosily.

Then, Phil looked toward Estelle, who was standing nearby.

“Come here.”

Estelle looked at Phil, who was currently occupied with Rosily’s embrace.

Her body showed a hint of hesitation. Phil called her eldest daughter again in an extremely gentle, low voice.

“Estelle, come here. Let me give you a hug, too.”

“Okay.”

Estelle nodded and walked slowly to the bedroom door. She opened her arms and hugged both Rosily and Phil. Phil chuckled and pulled her in.

The next morning.

Rosily bit into her bread with a wide-open mouth and drank her milk in big gulps, finishing her breakfast in no time. Then she turned her gaze to Estelle. Phil’s slender fingers were braiding Estelle’s hair.

She pouted her lips and said, “Mother~ I want braids too.”

“Alright, I’ll do yours in a moment. Let’s finish your sister’s first.”

Phil laughed, her hands never stopping.

She took some strands from the front of Estelle’s ears and turned them into small braids, securing them at the back of her head with an Anling Flower hairpin.

This wasn’t the first time; Phil was skilled at it and finished quickly.

She walked behind Rosily, who was rocking her stool, and pressed her hands on the girl’s shoulders.

“Sit still. Don’t wiggle around. See how dignified your sister is sitting?”

“I’m not like this at school~”

“Then why are you like this at home?”

“Hehe…”

Rosily giggled foolishly.

Whenever she encountered a question she didn’t want to answer, she would act dumb like this.

Phil was used to it.

Rosily was much more relaxed at home, acting completely like a child when she was by her side.

She hoped Estelle could be like that too, but she still felt the need to nag occasionally, enjoying the thrill of acting like a mother educating her children.

Phil was still wearing a nightgown, her hair messy.

Ever since the schools in Red Pine City were integrated into the Crimson Academy, classes started much earlier.

Moreover, the academy didn’t just teach things related to Magic Power; it also began teaching history, military affairs, business, and even some advanced Magical Engineering courses.

This greatly enriched Rosily’s time at the academy, but it also forced Phil to get up early to cook for her two daughters.

Estelle finished her food without haste and took the initiative to place her plate on the kitchen counter.

Seeing this, Rosily also picked up her clean plate, tossing her head so the small braids Phil had just finished swung—and promptly came undone.

After giving her two daughters a hug each, Phil watched them leave.

She saw them board the carriage through the window, watching as it slowly moved away.

Once they disappeared from view, she glanced at the laundry basket in the corner and then at the pile of unwashed dishes on the stove.

Phil turned away and stretched, murmuring to herself with a mischievous smile, “Since she’s coming back today, I’ll just leave it for her.”

She hummed a little tune and walked to the bedroom, sitting in front of the mirror once more.

Looking at her messy silver hair, Phil picked up a comb and began to brush it leisurely.

But the comb suddenly stopped.

Phil’s pale-blue eyes stared blankly at the mirror because a woman had abruptly appeared inside.

Enya walked up behind her, leaning her body against Phil’s. She turned her head, her lips almost touching Phil’s ear as she whispered, “Who are you dressing up for?”

“Heh.”

Phil smiled but said nothing.

Enya’s eyebrows shot up, and the hand holding Phil tightened. “Talk. What are you hiding from me?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re even lying to yourself now?”

“Who is ‘yourself’ with you? I’m ready to issue a declaration of independence right now!”

Phil rolled her eyes at Enya in the mirror.

Enya gave a cold smile. “Oh, you?”

Then, she lightly scratched Phil’s back with her finger.

Phil sat up straight, her full chest heaving as she cried out in surprise, “What are you doing?!”

“Aren’t you the one who wanted independence? Come, let me see what you’ve got!”

Enya used her nail to slit open Phil’s nightgown.

Phil leaped from the stool and turned to glare at the silver-haired Dragon Princess in front of her.

She said angrily, “You won’t even let yourself off the hook?”

“Hah.”

Enya rolled her eyes and turned to lie on her side on the bed.

Looking at the blushing and angry Phil, she teased with a smile, “Why act so innocent? You were separated from my body, after all. Do you really think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”

She looked at Phil, thinking of Sylvia.

Sylvia was a puppet who possessed her own will. What was the relationship between her and the person who created her? Master and servant? Mother and child?

Enya thought she and Phil couldn’t keep things so ambiguous; they needed to establish a clear relationship. Her smile faded, and she turned serious as she spoke to Phil.

“What do you think…”